Roving Cooks

February 27: St John’s, AZ to Sedona, AZ. 208 miles, 3 hours. February 27-March 7: Cottonwood/Sedona

Back in 2001 (gah, 20 years ago!), I went to Phoenix with the Syracuse University Marching Band to cheer on the Orangemen at the Insight.com Bowl game. The quality of the football was less important than warm weather in December. We took a side trip to beautiful Sedona, rode some horses, soaked in the landscape. Fast forward to the present and I had an itch to swing through again. We spent the week staying outside Cottonwood and exploring the area. There is a ton to do, and quite a bit that is great for small kids.

Sunday – We spent the morning hiking at Red Rock State Park, and enjoyed lunch out on the patio at Sedona Beer Company (beer for us, lemonade for the kids). We squeezed in a walk around Montezuma’s Castle in the afternoon. This was a perfect site for small, tired kids and parents; the path is short and paved, and the junior ranger book was easy and engaging.

Monday – This was our “down day” of the week. The phone signal and wi-fi at our campground wasn’t quite sufficient for Greg to work well, so dropped him off at coffee shop in Cottonwood and continued to the city playground. In the afternoon, we explored the campground, saved Grayson from decapitating himself when he went down the taped off slide, and lamented the generally sad state of the playground with another family who was playing pickleball.

Tuesday – Irritation that the campground playground was closed (and that I got yelled at for driving over the 5 mph speed limit) forced us out for a wonderful day. After dropping Greg off at a Cottonwood coffee shop for work, we went to Clarkdale, a small town with a lovely town square and playground. After running around for awhile, we stopped at Violette’s Bakery Cafe, run out of a converted train caboose with delicious waffles and crepes, and sat outside for about an hour munching and chatting with the neighboring 6-foot-away tables. This was really my happy place. Around 11, we skipped across the street to check out the Arizona Copper Art Museum in the old high school. The exhibits are interesting and beautifully put together. Though I didn’t get to read every sign and infographic, Grayson and Madelyn seemed to tolerate a slower-than-normal pace as they looked for copper dragons in each room.

After a recommendation from one of our new cafe friends, we drove up the mountain to the small artist town of Jerome to explore Nelly Bly’s Kaleidoscope shop. You might have guessed it – it’s the largest brick and mortar Kaleidoscope store in the world. This was another example of “good thing we live in an RV” or I probably would have spent hundreds on a custom piece. As a side note, I felt like I had a parenting breakthrough as I started asking the kids to “put hands in pockets” instead of saying “don’t touch” on repeat.

Then came the true excitement – my (COVID vaccinated) parents made it into town and came over for dinner, after taking their first flight in a year and first real outing in months. Thank you, science!

Wednesday – We started the day with a Trolley Tour of Sedona, a late morning ice cream, and drove out to picnic at Slide Rock State Park. We did not do the water slide – but watched a couple courageous 10-12 year old boys go for it. It looked cold. And far from a smooth slide. Hiking next to and above the water was beautiful, and I’m sure on a hot summer day a natural water slide would feel great. Grandma was a true trooper; she took the back middle seat of the truck for the day, and read “Why oh why are Deserts Dry” on repeat.

Thursday – In the morning, we took the grandparents to Montezuma’s Castle, then drove to Montezuma’s Well. After a tasty lunch in the sun, we drove to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. This has a really breathtaking view. And, Grayson peed on a cactus! I would keep that private, but he announced it to everyone in the congregation/vicinity anyway. For dinner, Greg tried out his Traeger smoker as a tailgate grill and made burgers in the Sky Lodge Ranch parking lot. We then checked out the sunset at Airport Overlook, just a couple minutes walk away. The hotel boasts a comparably beautiful view with fewer people.

Friday – We safari’ed at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park, which exceeded our expectations with baby giraffes, lazing lions, large lizards, a tiger-jumping-in-a-pool show, and (Madelyn’s favorite) two javelinas. We were pretty wiped from the heat after lunch and enjoyed an afternoon swim at the hotel. Then, a real treat – Grayson and Madelyn slept over with Grandma and Grandpa, while Greg and I had a date night out! We window shopped around Sedona and then enjoyed a fabulous meal at the screened in/heated patio of Mariposa.

Saturday – Since the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa, Greg and I rose early, indulged in a Starbucks and hiked up Airport Mesa to watch the sunrise. We were the first up on the rocks and enjoyed a peaceful, quiet hour watching the sunrise as others gradually joined (including a wedding! Real devotion is having your hair and makeup done before 7am).

We picked up the crew around 8am and headed out for a Pink Jeep Tour of bumps, stories from the area, and more beautiful scenery. Madelyn loved bouncing around and Grayson peppered our guide with questions (or education) about bears, snakes, spiders, and dinosaurs. We all enjoyed some more pool time in the afternoon. Greg and I took advantage of a second kids’ sleep over night with G&G to eat pizza and go to Whole Foods (we think the first time in years that Greg and I went to the grocery store together without kids).

Sunday morning we were sad to pack up and head out for our next location in Kanab, UT, having really loved the beauty, sunny workspace (Greg), and precious family time in Sedona. Grandma and Grandpa had some shopping plans in Sedona before heading to Phoenix to hang out with Aunt Christine and Ludo the giant puppy. This area definitely falls our our “we’ll be back” list.